WBC Champ Alejandro Mendez to Open Concept Café in Madison, Wisc.

Alejandro will be in Madison frequently behind the bar and to hold classes on home brewing. Todd and Alejandro also look forward to bringing coffee farmers to Madison to educate customers. “It’s both really exciting and a little scary because it’s unusual for a coffee bar to focus so much on a single country,” Alejandro says. “But after spending time in Madison, I know it’s the perfect place for 5th Element because Madison is such a foodie town, and I know people are going to appreciate a coffee bar that tells the story of the product from production, to roasting to cup.” Todd and Alejandro are particularly proud of the bar at 5th Element, which repurposes wood from a former bowling alley in Madison. Todd, who will serve as the company’s general manager, and Alejandro intend to do a lot more work in El Salvador than just buying the coffee. “After the first year or so, we w...